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Apple revenue misses again, iPhone disappoints

An Apple iPhone 5 is displayed in an Apple store in Rome, in this file picture taken September 28, 2012. Apple's stock dropped 4 percent Wednesday after iPhone sales came in below expectations. Buy Photo

By Poornima Gupta, Reuters

Posted Jan. 23, 2013, at 5:11 p.m.

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple Inc. reported quarterly revenue that slightly missed Wall Street expectations as sales of its flagship iPhone came in below target, sending its shares down more than 4 percent.

The world’s largest technology company shipped 47.8 million iPhones, lower than the roughly 50 million that Wall Street analysts had predicted. Sales of the iPad came in at 22.9 million in the fiscal first quarter, about in line with forecasts.

Sources this month have pointed to production cutbacks at Apple’s component suppliers as a sign that demand may be waning for the iPhone, which accounts for half of the company’s sales, and the iPad.

The disappointing numbers come after Apple undershot revenue targets in the previous two quarters. The results will prompt more questions on what Apple has in its product pipeline, and what it can do to attract new sales and maintain its growth trajectory.

Apple said on Wednesday its fiscal first quarter revenue rose to $54.5 billion, below the average analyst estimate of $54.73 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.

For the fiscal first quarter it posted net income of $13.07 billion, or $13.81 a diluted share, compared to $13.06 billion, or $13.87 a share, a year earlier.